Crossing Boundaries
by sassyfiestycrazychic
Summary: When Snape is chosen as her 'protector', Hermione can't say she's excited for summer, but when a potions accident de-ages Snape, it changes her perspective on everything.
1. How it all started

**A/N: Okay, first off Snape is NOT dead in this story, which takes place after Voldemort is defeated. Second, the whole story is in Hermione's point of view unless I say it's not which may or may not happen. Yeah…that's pretty much all you need to know. **

**Disclaimer: I think it's pretty obvious that I don't own Harry Potter, if I did I wouldn't be on fanfiction right now.**

I sighed as I followed Snape toward the doorstep. Even though the war was over, members of the Order of the Phoenix thought that we still needed protection until the rogue Death Eaters were captured and sent to Azkaban. For safety purposes, Harry, Ron and I were sent to safe houses with a different order member. Unfortunately for me, I got stuck with Snape and am going to be spending the summer with him at his home in Spinner's End. I wish I could say he had softened a bit after the war, but that's almost the complete opposite. He seems even more guarded around the three of us after we saw him almost die. Part of me wishes I could try and get closer to him so he would maybe let down his walls but the pessimistic side of me knows that would never happen. That didn't mean I wasn't going to try.

Taking a deep breath, I followed him inside after he unlocked the door to find myself standing in a grand foyer that made me feel the size of an ant. The floors were a smooth flawless marble that didn't seem to match Snape's dark personality. There were two staircases, one on the left and one on the right that came together at the top, leading to an open walkway with doors interspersed that I guessed were bedrooms. Following Snape down a hallway to the right, he spoke the names of the rooms as we passed. Finally, he stopped at a door towards the end of the hallway.

"This is my personal potions lab of which you are absolutely forbidden to enter unless specifically asked by no one other than myself." I frowned slightly to myself, I had actually been hoping he would show me it; I enjoyed my potions lessons with him. He turned to the door across the hall from the potions lab. "This is the kitchen; you can summon a house elf from your bedroom if you're hungry and don't want to walk down here."

Turning back the way we came, he lead me up the staircase to a door slightly to the left of the middle of the hall. "This will be your bedroom for the time being," he said as he opened the door. I felt myself gasp as I saw the interior of the room. In the middle of the room was a large canopy bed with shimmering violet bed curtains and comforter with silver accents and pillows. Looking through a door to the left I caught a glimpse of an all marble bathroom with a tub that looked almost as big as the one in the prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts.

"This is beautiful," I said, turning around to face him. "Thank you." The only indication I got telling me he heard me was a slight nod of his head as he looked at me with his emotionless obsidian eyes.

"Dinner is at 6 o'clock every evening, try not to be late. My bedroom is the one right next to yours in the middle of the hall; please don't come in unless you absolutely have to." With that he turned around and disappeared down the stairs, probably to his potions lab. I sighed. I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to get him to open up more.

The next few days I was absolutely bored out of my mind. I was pretty much stuck up in my room all day, besides meal times and the time I spent wandering around and exploring the house. On the third day of my stay there I finally found the library and I was overjoyed. I was slightly miffed at the fact that he withheld this information though, he _knew_ I loved books, he constantly reminded me of this fact when he called me a know-it-all.

About a week after I had first arrived, I was sitting in the library curled up in a cozychair when I heard a loud boom. Startled, I looked around and realized the sound had come from the direction of the kitchen. I automatically thought of Snape and knew something must have gone wrong with a potion. Jumping out of the chair, I sprinted down the hallways, surprisingly extremely worried about him. If something happened to him it would be terrible, and not just because he survived Voldemort, but because he finally got his justice after everyone learned he was innocent and didn't really kill Dumbledore. Reaching the lab, I threw the door open without hesitation and ran in. Looking around, I ignored my fascination with all the ingredients and looked around frantically until I saw a pile of black fabric over a crumpled body on the floor.

"Professor!" I called as I quickly went to kneel at his side. "Are you alright?" I said as I turned him onto his back and instantly got my answer. Laying in front of me, blinking his bleary eyes rapidly, was a teenage boy with flawless pale skin and long black hair. "Oh my," I whispered as I realized what had happened; he had somehow been de aged. "Professor, do you remember what happened?"

"I was brewing a potion and…something must have went wrong, although I could have sworn I put the right ingredient in. I always keep it there…"

"Professor," I asked worriedly, "are you aware of what state you're in?"

"Should I be concerned about how I look?" he asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Sir, you're a teenager." Seeing the shocked and disbelieving look on his face, I quickly conjured a mirror and handed it to him. Seeing his reflection he instantly paled.

"We need to contact Minerva," he said, surprising me by getting up and offering me his hand. Pulling me out of the lab and down to the living room fireplace, he immediately Flooed McGonagall.

"Severus," she said, her eyes widening when she took in his appearance. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure, I was just brewing a simple Pepper-Up potion when it exploded. The next thing I know I'm on the floor, 18 again with Miss Granger kneeling beside me."

"Well, this is certainly…unexpected. I see what I can do, but for the time being you're going to have to stay this way. As long as you still have all your memories, I'm sure you'll be able to adequately protect Miss Granger."

Nodding solemnly, I watched Snape end the connection before turning to me. "You're going to help me research," he said, making it more of an order than a request.

"I will," I said, smirking to myself, "but not until you call me Hermione and I can call you Severus. Technically, you're not my teacher anymore, so there's no need for the formalities…Sevy." Smirking a very Slytherin smirk at the incredulous look on his face, I turned on my heel and walked back up to my room, a slight spring in my step. Something about the fact that my former Potions professor was now a teenager made me feel empowered, and I found myself planning to take advantage of his predicament and cross every personal boundary I could. _This is going to be one interesting summer._


	2. A Slytherin's Plan

**A/N: Here's chapter 2! Thanks for all the wonderful feedback!**

**Disclaimer: I thought we already went over this; I don't own Harry Potter!**

Later that day, I sat in my room, nervously awaiting the confrontation I just knew was going to happen. Maybe I had pushed my luck a little too far by calling him 'Sevy'. I even skipped dinner in an attempt to avoid him, afraid to face his wrath. I knew that I had crossed a major personal boundary with him, but I just hadn't been able to resist. Sighing, I looked over at the clock and realized it was already past 11 pm. Walking over and opening the door, I looked both ways before walking out. I nervously creeped down the hallway, stopping and looking around frantically every time the floor creaked beneath my feet until I finally reached the door to the kitchen. Opening it slowly, I turned around an closed it behind me with a quite 'click' as soon as I was inside. I let out a sigh of relief and turned to face the kitchen, only to jump in surprise when I saw Snape sitting at the table, quietly waiting for me.

"I see you finally decided to come to dinner," he said, smirking slightly.

"You sat here and waited for me?" I asked incredulously. He chuckled slightly, which surprised me. I don't think I've ever seen him smile, much less laugh. I was officially creeped out now.

"No, I heard you coming out your room. There are a lot of things you don't know about this house, it's a lot like Hogwarts. There are other ways to get around." He leaned back in his chair and beckoned me forward, gesturing to the chair across from him. Walking over to it wearily, I slowly sat myself down, not taking my eyes off of him. When I was finally done, he spoke again. "I thought about what you said, and I've decided to take advantage of my predicament. I'm going to use this to do all the things I couldn't do in my youth after joining Voldemort." _Wow, great minds think alike_, I thought to myself.

"So…are we friends now or something?" I asked, internal scolding myself for sounding like and idiot. He looked at me thoughtfully before standing up.

"In a way I guess." He walked to the door, opening it and getting ready to step out before throwing "Goodnight, Hermione," over his shoulder.

He was gone before I good say good night back. After he left, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, that I was missing something. I knew he had been acting strange, and it frustrated me to not know why. His words kept ringing though my head, _I'm going to use this to do all the things I couldn't do in my youth. _In my mind, that translated to, _I'm going to do all the Slyhterin-like things I didn't do while I was a kid._ Smirking as I thought of a brilliant but risky idea, I skipped back up to my room and quickly fell asleep, content with what I was going to do the next day.

As soon as I woke up the next morning, I checked the clock. 8 am, perfect. For my plan to work, he couldn't be awake yet. Jumping out of bed, I didn't even bother to check my appearance in the full length mirror before walking down the hallway to his door. Pushing the door open a crack, I checked to make sure he was still asleep before sneaking in. Tip toeing over to his bed, I gently lifted myself onto it, standing up and praying he wasn't going to murder me for what I was about to do.

"WAKEY WAKEY SEVERUS!" I shouted as I jumped up and down on his bed. The abrupt noise and violent shaking cause him to bolt upright and grab his wand from underneath his pillow, looking around frantically before he spotted me. He instantly scowled, grabbing my ankle so I fell forward and toppled onto the pillow next to him.

"Didn't I tell you specifically not to go in my room?" he said in a voice of force calm. I felt fear creep into my veins before my Gryffindor pride kicked in.

"Yeah, when you when you were my teacher. What're you going to do now, give me detention?" I taunted, smiling smugly. He continued to glare at me fiercely until his features suddenly shifted into forced pleasantry.

"It's okay, I overreacted, you can come in here whenever you'd like."

I swear I thought I was about to pee my pants. He was being _nice _to me! He said I could come in his room! Something was definitely wrong in the universe, first Snape was turned into a teenager, now he's being nice? Yep, there was definitely something wrong. Alarmed, I carefully crawled off the bed and back out the room, never taking my eyes off of him. When the door finally closed behind me, I shuddered. "Dear God, _what_ did I do to deserve this?" I muttered to myself before going back to my room.

0o0o0o0o0o

His nice routine continued for the next few days, and even then it still creeped me out. Finally, a week later during a very awkward dinner I decided to say something about it.

"What are you doing? Why have you been so nice to me?" I demanded.

"I told you, I'm doing all the things I didn't get to do in my youth. One of those things is show people that I'm not that big bad Slytherin I appear to me. Even in my thirties my image never changed; don't think I didn't know you guys called me a greasy git and what not." I looked at him suspiciously.

"So…no ulterior motives or anything like that?" He shook his head. Nodding, I stood up from my chair. "Well then, I think I'm going to retire for bed now. Good night, Severus." I began walking out the kitchen.

"Good night, Hermione," I heard him say from behind me. I shuddered. Something still wasn't right, and I swore I was going to figure it out.

0o0o0o0o0o

I sat up in bed, my heart pounding against my rib cage. I'd had another nightmare about being back in the war. It was the same one I always had; me looking around Hogwarts and seeing all of my friends dead, all because of me because I wasn't there in time. Even though I knew there was nothing to worry about I still had them, I just couldn't get used to the fact that the war was over and I didn't have to be on my guard anymore; there was no more staying in the woods and hiding from Death Eaters, I could be myself. I suddenly smirked to myself, coming up with an idea. I knew Snape just had to be lying about trying to be nice; he had an ulterior motive and this was an awesome way to find out what.

Getting of bed, I walked out my room and over to the door, jumping as I flash of lightning lit up the hallway. I hadn't even realized it was storming. Speed walking down the hall, I threw open Snape's door and ran in before lightning could strike again. The sound of the door slamming against the opposite wall immediately woke him up and he looked around the room until his eyes landed on me.

"Severus, I had a nightmare and the thunder and lightning really isn't helping. Can I sleep with you for the rest of the night?" I crossed my fingers, hoping he would say no and I wouldn't have to worry about the awkwardness of sleeping with him. Unfortunately for me, he nodded tiredly and laid back down, patting the spot beside him on the bed. Inwardly groaning, I crawled him beside him, laying on my side so I was facing him. There was about a foot between us, but another strike of lightning caused me to jump forward and grab onto his shirt. He opened his eyes and looked at me, and that's when I realized we were just a few inches apart from each other, our noses almost touching. Blushing, I let go of his shirt and pulled back a bit so there was more space between us again. Suddenly realizing how tired I was, I let the calming heat from his body beside mine lull me to sleep.

0o0o0o0o0o

I sighed as I snuggled into the warm thing beside me. In the haze of sleep, I was slightly confused when I felt the warm thing move. Cracking open my eyes, I looked up to see the fabric of a gray tee shirt stretch over a slightly muscled chest. Confused, I raised my eyes a little higher and found myself drowning in the dark depths of familiar obsidian eyes. My eyes drifted down to soft pink lips that raised slightly in a smile.

"I was wondering when you would wake up. Sleep well?" That was the final straw. I completely lost it.

"Oh my god, what is your problem? First, you're a teacher and you're all mean to me and now that you're a teenager you're being all nice? Is there something I should know, do you have split personality disorder or something? 'Cause you had to have lied to me the other day when you said you didn't have any ulterior motives, you have to have on. Why are you being so nice?" My chest was heaving by the time I was done, my rant using every breath I had. Looking down, I noticed how my chest brushed against his every time I exhaled. Finally meeting his eyes again, I noticed he was still smiling.

"I said I was trying to show how I'm not as mean as everyone thinks I am. I can actually be quite playful." I was about to shout at him again and say he already told me this when he spoke again. "And I was trying to do this by trying to drive you crazy." My eyes widen with realization and I scowled.

"Well, it worked. Are you going to stop now?" I asked hopefully. My heart sank when I saw him smirk.

"Nope."

Infuriated, I got out of the bed and stalked back over toward the door, turning to give him a dirty look before I walked out, slamming the door behind me. I couldn't _believe_ him. That stupid Slytherin, I should have seen this coming. Of course he had an ulterior motive, not only was he a Slytherin but he had also been a spy so he knew how to cover his true intentions. Walking into my room, I slammed the door as hard as I could so he would hear and know haw mad I was. If he wanted to do this then fine; two can play that game.


	3. Dancing and a Walk in the Park

**OMG I can't believe how many reviews I got for the last chapter in under 12 hours. Thank you so much, I really enjoy hearing what you have to say about my work. Criticism is appreciated to, but nothing over the top and straight out rude. Here's chapter 3. And if it seems a little weird, blame it on the multiple episodes of Spongebob I'm watching; his stupidness is seriously contagious.**

**Yep, I still don't own Harry Potter.**

I smiled as I looked through my itunes library; it's amazing how easy it is to get revenge when you're angry at someone. I can't _believe_ Snape, trying to creep me out. If he's going to keep doing that then I'm just going to annoy him. A certain Slytherin once told me I was really annoying, so this shouldn't be hard at all. Finally finding the right song, I turned up the speakers as loud as they would go and threw open my door, hoping he would hear. To make even more noise, I started dancing and singing at the top of my lungs.

"_Tonight, tonight, there's a party on the rooftop top of the world! Tonight, tonight, and we're dancing on the edge of the Hollywood sign!" _To my pleasure, he came storming into the room not even a minute after the music started playing.

"What are you doing? He asked, looking slightly miffed. I smiled.

"Dancing! Come dance with me!" I shouted, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards me. I smiled at the uncomfortable look on his face. Moving his hands from side to side I smiled at him, swaying my hips and nodding my head. "Is there a problem?" He looked like he was about to retort when he stopped himself.

"Nope, none at all," he said as he placed one hand on my hip. My eyes widened.

"Um, what are you doing?" I asked nervously. He just calmly smiled back at me.

"Dancing, isn't it obvious?" I smirked as I realized what he was trying to do.

"Okay, fine. Let's dance."

We started dancing, rocking from side to side awkwardly. I wanted desperately to pull away but I wouldn't let him win. So I kept dancing. Eventually the song ended and switched to Colbie Caillat's Make it Rain. Slowing down, I found the song combined with Snape's steady heartbeat calming. Bravely, I leaned forward and leaned my head against his chest. I was surprised when he didn't pull away. As we kept dancing, I lost track of time, lost in a world where it was only me and him. Snape pulling away finally drew me back into reality. He looked down at me.

"Want to go to the park?" I stared at him for a good five minutes before I finally answered.

"I have no idea how to feel about that offer; slightly discouraged because that's just weird, but also encouraged because I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work." He just smirked smugly at me. "I'll go, but only if you can catch me."

Giving a taunting smile, I pulled away and bolted out of the room. I could hear his rapid footfalls behind me, urging me to go faster. Sprinting as fast as I could, I sped down the stairs, taking them two at a time. A felt a wide grin spread across my face as I heard Snape yell indignantly from behind me. Taking multiple quick turns, I ran until I found myself inside the massive library. I quickly ducked behind a bookshelf as I heard the door open behind me. Holding my breath, I waited as his soft footsteps neared my hiding place. Waiting until he was just around the corner of the shelf before bolting off in the opposite direction and giving away my position. I let out a jovial laugh as I heard him yelling at me. I abruptly stopped laughing though when I felt his arms wrap around my waist from behind, briefly lifting my feet off the ground.

"Gotcha," he whispered in my ear, out of breath from all the running. "Are we going to the park now?" I laughed at the childishly hopeful note in his voice.

"Depends," I countered. "How are you such a good actor?"

"I was a spy, love. Acting was my life." I nodded in acceptance. "So are we going to the park.?"

"I don't know. We've been here for two weeks, right?" I felt him nod from behind me. "I'll go. I'm flattered that you're doing all this just for me, even if it is to creep me out. It is _never_ going to work, by the way."

"Nice try," he said, removing his arms from around me. I was surprised that I missed the feel of them wrapped around my waist. I turned and frowned at him playfully.

"I'll keep trying though," I said, disgusting myself at how much I sounded like Malfoy. Maybe I should try and be a little less cocky.

Following him out the library, we made our way to the front door and walked outside. I took in a deep breath of the afternoon summer air; I hadn't realized how much time I'd been spending inside. Together, we walked to the small park and strolled underneath the canopy of trees, shading us from the blazing sun. I smiled as I looked around, taking in every little detail form the petal of each flower to the birds perching in the trees.

"Severus, can I ask you something?" He opened his mouth but then paused, seeming to stop and think about what he was about to say.

"Sure."

"If this is your true personality, then why did you hide it? You could've been every students favorite teacher, yet you went with the cold and scary routine."

"Let's just say…I have some trust issues," he said, looking off into the distance. I nodded, excepting that he didn't want to talk about it. Looking around I realized we were almost home.

"Race you back to the house!" I yelled, sprinting up the tall hill that was underneath the house. I smiled when I heard him laugh from behind me; it was nice, he should definitely laugh more. By the time I finally reached the top of the hill, I was hunched over, trying to catch my breath. Severus came up behind me in the same state. I was surprised when I looked over and saw him smirking.

"No fair, you cheated." Despite the fact that I was completely out of breath, I laughed.

"Oh, suck it up." Pulling open the door, I walked into the foyer and made my way up to my room, Snape right behind me. When I reached the door, I turned to him. "You're pretty good at this 'trying to creep me out' stuff. Too bad I'm not giving up; you _will_ be annoyed by the time I leave here, thoroughly annoyed."

"Very well then, malady," said Snape, giving me an exaggerated bow. "I will see you at dinner?"

"6 o'clock, Severus," I said before walking into my room and closing the door. Leaning against it I sighed; maybe this summer wasn't going to be so bad after all.


	4. Nightmares and Pancakes

**The last chapter didn't come out as bad as I thought it would, maybe I should watch Spongebob while writing. Anyway, here's chapter 4!**

**Let me see; nope, I still don't own Harry Potter.**

_My heart raced as I sprinted through the hallways of Malfoy Manor. If I stopped running, Bellatrix and Greyback would catch me. I couldn't let that happen; I had to get out for Harry and Ron. If they didn't make it, I was their last hope for the Horcruxes. I had to make it back to Hogwarts and alert the others; I won't let Voldemort win this war. But I needed to stop and take a breath, my lungs were on fire. Maybe just a few seconds wouldn't hurt…no! I had to keep running, don't stop. I thought about all the people who are depending on me; Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Seamus, Dean and Professor Lupin. I had to do this for him; he'd already lost 3 friends to this war, I wouldn't let him lose anything else. I had almost reached the door when I felt a hand grab my shoulder._

"NO!" I yelled, screaming and thrashing as the person wrapped their arms around me.

"Hermione, calm down, it's just me-"

"Let go of me!" I shouted at the person, futilely trying to get away even though I knew the person was much stronger than me. I couldn't give up.

"Hermione, please, wake up. It's just a dream."

Even though I doubted this was a dream, somehow I knew it really was. Trying to calm my erratic heartbeat, I silently willed myself to wake up, finding myself staring up into black eyes filled with worry.

"Thank Merlin you're all right," said Severus, running a hand through his hair, disheveled from sleep. "When I heard you screaming I thought you were being attacked my Death Eaters or something."

"Wait, I was screaming?" That was new. I don't think I've ever screamed in my sleep before, as far as I knew.

"Yeah, like you were being tortured. What was the dream about?"

I was at that moment I remembered the dream and completely broke down. Bursting into tears, I impulsively wrapped my arms around him and sobbed into his neck. It didn't matter that he was my former teacher or that he had once been a hated murder; right now he was my rock. As I cried, I couldn't help but ponder how I had become so attached to him in just under three weeks. The worst part was that I didn't even know if he really felt the same way back; for all I knew it could just be an act. The rush of insecurities about this new realization caused even more tears to flow and before I knew I was sobbing too hard to form a compete sentence. I tried to stop, but for the life of me I just couldn't. When I finally stopped crying, I was amazed to find that he was still holding on to me, rubbing soothing circles on my back and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. Pulling back slightly, I raised my hands to wipe away the tears before they could dry.

"Thank you," I said, choking up and causing another tear to roll down my cheek. I was surprised when he reached up and used the pad of his thumb to wipe it away.

"You're welcome. I _am_ your protector; this is part of the job description." His comment made me give a watery laugh.

"Gee, thanks, you make me feel so loved. Now go back to bed; I think I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" I nodded. Removing his arms from around me, he crawled off my bed and walked out of my room, closing the door softly behind him. I smiled; I think I made a new and unexpected friend.

0o0o0o0o0o

I groaned as I looked over at the clock; it was only 6. A surprising thing I learned about my ex-potions professor was that he liked to sleep in when he wasn't working. Deciding I'd make myself some breakfast, I grabbed my iPod speakers and headed down to the kitchens. I was a little shocked to learn that Severus had house elves; he didn't seem like the type. Although he was better than most people; he actually treated them like living, breathing creatures instead of slaves. He didn't even make them clean that much; I'd caught him picking up a few things on occasion.

Reaching the kitchens, I greeted the house elves with a "Good morning"; I plugged in my speakers and went to the cupboards, searching for some ingredients to use to make pancakes. Bustling around the kitchen, I swayed my hips from side to side in time with the music as I gathered the ingredients needed and started cooking. I was so busy cooking that I didn't even realize Severus had walked into the kitchen.

"Someone's in a good mood this morning," he whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck and making me jump in surprise. I turned my body slightly so I could see him more.

"Just because I'm in a good mood doesn't mean you can scare me to death," I said playfully, giving him a quick smile before turning back to the pancakes so they wouldn't burn. "Hope you're hungry because I think I made way too many pancakes for two people." I heard Severus laugh from behind me.

Finishing up the pancakes, I divided them up on two plates and sat them on the table. Sitting down next to Severus, I placed a huge forkful into my mouth and moaned and pleasure, these were amazing pancakes. An identical moan from beside me confirmed my thoughts on them. Who knew I had a hidden talent for making pancakes?

"These pancakes are amazing," said Severus from beside me. I nodded in agreement.

"Can you do me a favor? Just forget about this morning, please. It was really quite embarrassing. I hate crying in front of people; it makes me feel weak."

"Okay," said Severus, "but just so you know, I could never think you were weak," he added softly. I smiled into my plate of pancakes.

"Thank you," I mumbled. We finished the rest of our breakfast in a pleasant silence. Surprisingly, I couldn't think of any other place I'd rather be.


	5. A night at the Burrow

**An anonymous reviewer, Emily, pointed out a mistake I made in the last chapter. I forgot that they didn't have ipods back then. I'm writing another Draco/Hermione story right now and at the beginning I put to ignore the fact that some things weren't invented then. I thought I had put that in this story but I hadn't. So, if I put anything that wasn't invented then in the story then for convenience, just pretend it was. Here are the 1,790 words that are chapter 5! I think this just might be my favorite chapter yet.**

**Disclaimer: I don't recall saying I owned Harry Potter, but just in case you didn't hear me; I don't own Harry Potter.**

I sighed as I shifted in the armchair, repositioning my book so I could stretch out my stiff wrists. I was sitting in the library with Severus, both of us completely submerged in our books. We had been reading for ours, lost in our own worlds. For the past week we'd fallen into a routine of reading together every afternoon. I had been staying with him at Spinner's End for over a month now and I found myself unable to imagine living by myself. I found that I thoroughly enjoyed his presence. As great as Harry and Ron our, I could never manage to have an intelligent conversation with them about things like how different ingredients change the properties of a potion or theories on how to make a simple charm stronger. They just didn't get it. But something had been nagging at the back of my mind, an important problem that needed to be solved now instead of later.

"Hey, Severus?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah?" he said absently, not looking up from his book.

I hesitated before asking my question. "What are you going to do when they find out a way to change you back?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking up at me and giving me a confused look over the edge of his book.

"Are we still going to be friends when they change you back to your normal age? I mean, I like to think that we're friends, but…would you being older change that? To be honest, I hope it doesn't."

"Well," said Severus carefully, seeming to be thinking hard about what he was about to say. "you can't be sure that they'll find an antidote."

"Stop trying to avoid the question," I said, thoroughly annoyed.

"I'm not. I'm trying to say that you won't have to worry about it right now."

"I do have to worry about this right now!" I said vehemently. "I don't want to have to worry about this when it happens, when everyone is pressuring you to do it and everything will be going back to normal. I just want to know that we'll still be friends, because whether or not you think I'm a friend, I consider you one."

My words seemed to stop him in his tracks. He stared at me, a strange look on his face. For the first time, Severus Snape seemed to be at a loss for words. Finally after what seemed like forever, he said "I can't promise anything right now, and I'm not really sure what to do in this situation, but I promise I'll tell you when I know."

Accepting that this was as much of an answer as I was going to get from him, I sighed and went back to reading before I remembered something. "Hey, the Weasley's invited us over for dinner tomorrow night. The whole order is going to be there. Will you come?" At his reluctant look, I gave him my best puppy dog eyes and poked out my lower lip. "Please?" I whined. His internal struggle was written across his face, his brow furrowed in determination. Eventually, he gave up.

"Fine," he conceded, rolling his eyes and going back to his book. I smiled, tomorrow I would finally get to see Harry, Ron, and Ginny again, and saying I was excited would be an understatement.

0o0o0o0o0o

I smile as I finished fixing my hair, turning my head this way and that to get a view of my head from all angles. Placing down my brush, I started putting a studded clip into my hair when I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in," I called, listening to the sound of the door clicking open and Severus' soft footsteps making their way into the bathroom.

"Hey, I have something for you," he said, coming up to stand behind me. Taking his hands from behind his back, I gasped when I saw what he was holding. Dangling from his hands was a beautiful silver necklace with three different sized emeralds hanging in the center, the smallest at the top and the largest at the bottom. "It's charmed, so that if you touch it when you're in danger or need help it'll automatically alert me. I'll know where you are and be able to directly apparate there."

"Thank you," I whispered breathlessly as he placed it around my neck, pulling my hair out from underneath the chain after clasping it.

"No problem," he said, as if it was no big deal. "It just happens to match your outfit perfectly."

I chuckled, realizing he was right. It did match perfectly with the olive green top and jeans I was wearing.

"Come on, let's go," I said, leading the way out of my room and down to the foyer. Stepping outside, we quickly walked to the outside of the anti-apparition wards and apparated to the Burrow. When we got there, I took a deep breath before making my way over to the front door, Severus falling in to step beside me. I wasn't sure if anyone knew about his de-aging and was slightly excited about how they would react. Part of me hoped that they didn't treat him the same, especially after it was revealed that Dumbledore asked him to kill him. I don't think I would be able to control me temper if they treated him the same after I had gotten to know him; he was entirely different from how everyone thinks he is. Finally reaching the door, I nervously lifted my hand and knocked. Not three seconds after, the door flew open to reveal a smiling Ginny Weasley.

"Hermione!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me in a bone crushing hug which I enthusiastically returned. It felt like way more than three weeks since I had seen her. "Who's that hottie with you?" she asked as we both pulled away. I blushed, glancing quickly back at Severus, hoping he didn't hear that. Although thinking about it, he was quite cute in his younger form.

"Well," I said, turning back toward her, "you obviously don't know who that is, so I'm just going to tell everyone at once." Following her inside, I walked in to the living room where everyone was gathered. Walking to the middle of the room, I beckoned Severus to stand beside me. Hesitantly, he moved to my side as I cleared my throat to grab everyone's attention. When the room finally quieted down, I looked around at everyone before speaking.

"I don't know if Minerva told any of you, but at the beginning of my stay at Spinner's End, Snape had a little… accident. We don't really know what happened, but it exploded and resulted in…this," I said, gesturing to Severus. I stifled a laugh as he waved at everyone.

"Hey," he said as everyone just stood there and stared incredulously at him. I wasn't completely sure whether or not that was a good thing. Finally, after what seemed like forever, someone finally spoke.

"Hermione, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" asked Ginny. Nodding nervously, I followed her up the stairs toward her bedroom. She didn't say anything until the door was shut and locked behind us and she had cast a quick silencing charm. "Is that seriously Snape?"

"Yes, why?" I asked, confused.

"Are you serious?" she asked, exasperated. "You really don't know why?" I shook my head. "You're saying that you honestly haven't noticed how hot he is?"

"What?" I asked incredulously. "It's not like I spend all day sitting around doing nothing. We actually do things." 

"Oh really?" said Ginny, raising an eyebrow teasingly. "What kind of things?"

"Get your head out of the gutter," I said, playful whacking the back of her head before there was a knock on the door, followed by Ron's voice saying it was time for dinner. Unlocking the door, we made our way down the stairs.

"I don't believe you, by the way," said Ginny as we reached the bottom floor. Chuckling, I trailed behind her into the dining room where everyone was seated around the table. Squeezing into0 the chair beside Severus, I smiled as I caught sight of Mrs. Weasley's cooking.

"No matter how annoying I think the Weasleys are, I can't deny that Molly Weasley makes the most amazing food," said Severus, making me smile and nod in agreement.

"I never thought I would here you say anything good about the Weasleys," I said in mock shock. He just laughed, which I think scared everyone.

"You should know by now that I'm full of surprises," he said, making me giggle. "Fire whiskey?" he asked, holding out the bottle that George had been passing around. Nodding, I smiled gratefully as He poured some into my glass for me, pouring him some as well.

The rest of the evening consisted of him whispering comments about things around us into my ear, me giggling, Ginny giving me a smug look every time I giggled, and multiple glasses of Fire whiskey. Throughout all of this, I barely even noticed the dirty looks Ron kept sending our way. By the time we left, we were both slightly drunk. When we apparated back to Spinner's End, we both stumbled and grabbed onto each other, tumbling to the ground and proceeding to break into a fit of giggles. Finally regaining some self control, we got up and made our way up to the house, both slightly lightheaded and dizzy.

"So," I slurred, turning toward him, "did you have fun?" I giggled giddily at the conflicted look that flashed across his face.

"Unfortunately," he said, pouting, before leaning forward and whispering into my ear. "Although, it was mostly because you were there." I'm embarrassed to say I started giggling like a school girl when he said that.

"I'd never thought I'd see the day when Severus Snape was drunk."

"I think I could say the same about you," he said slyly. "Come on, let's get you to bed." I rolled my eyes as he took my hand and led me up the stairs.

"I'm not that drunk," I said indignantly, right as I tripped over a stair. "I might be a little off balance, but I'm still in complete control over my mind."

"Whatever you say," he said teasingly as we reached my bedroom door. "I presume you know the rest from here?"

"You presume correctly," I said in a business like tone before smiling at him. "Goodnight, Severus."

"Goodnight, Hermione," he said, before walking to his room and disappearing behind the door. I smiled as I walked into my room, wondering just what the fuzzy warm feeling in the pit of my stomach was.

**Review Please!**


	6. A Shoulder to Cry On

**A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! You all are what keep me going! Here's chapter 6!**

I smiled as I walked into the kitchen, taking in the smell of cooking omelets. I smile widened as I saw Severus standing over the stove. "I didn't know you could cook," I said, making him turn his head so he could see me. He shrugged.

"There are a lot of things people don't know about me, as you've probably learned." Finishing what I now realized was two omelets; he walked over to the table and placed each one on a plate. Gesturing for me to sit down, I watched as he sat down across from me and observed my outfit. "You're dressed nice. Going somewhere?" he asked as I sat down.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm just going to the park though. You don't mind do you?" He stopped and looked at me, giving me a strange look, as if he was thinking hard about it. Finally, his face relaxed.

"Okay, just be careful," he said, surprising me. I had never heard him say something with so much emotion; it seemed that he actually cared about me.

"What are you so worried about?" I asked, chuckling slightly. "It's been almost 2 months, I think all of the Death Eaters are gone by now."

"Still," he said, "it's my job to make sure you stay safe, so that's what I'm going to do." Nodding, we finished our breakfast in comfortable silence. Finishing my omelet, I got up from the table.

"I think I'm going to go now; I'll be back in an hour." I saw him nod and take another bite of his omelet before walking out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

Stepping outside, I sighed, taking in a deep breath of the late July air. The sunlight felt great on my pale, sun-deprived skin. I hadn't realized how much time I'd been spending inside, reading in the library with Severus. _Although I can't say I don't enjoy it, _I thought to myself, smirking. It still shocked me at how close I'd become to Severus in less than 2 months. I couldn't believe that almost 2 months, Severus had been the snarky potions professor that everyone, including myself, disliked. How he had transformed into this wonderful person, I had no clue. I always find myself wondering f he was like this when he was a teenager. If he was, I couldn't begin to fathom what had made him the cold man he turned into. All I could do was hope that when he was turned back to his normal age, we could still be friends. I honestly didn't know what I would do if I had to go back to being without him.

I smiled as I watched the kids run around the park, giggling as they played endless games of tag. All throughout my years at Hogwarts, I found myself missing those days. With the war going on, I never got to act like a kid, especially with all the things I did with Harry and Ron. _Someone _had to be the voice of reason during all of their crazy schemes. Contrary to popular belief though, I didn't regret doing any of it. Looking back on it, I couldn't imagine my life without any of the dangerous and hectic things we got into.

I was startled out of my musings when I heard a rustling from the trees. Looking up, I realized I had wandered into one of the darker parts of the park, where it started to turn into a dense forest. I started to walk a bit faster, knowing that if I kept walking I would reach the house faster than if I turned around. It may sound silly for a war hero to be afraid of rustling foliage, but being in a war had made me much more alert. Anything rustling when there wasn't any wind was a bad sign. I learned to never judge something quickly.

I had made it halfway through the dark path when I felt a gloved hand cover my mouth from behind. I cursed myself for not having my wand ready when I felt them pull back my hands so I couldn't reach my wand. Using my peripheral vision, I noticed two more figures come up from beside me. With horror I realized they were Deatheaters. Panicking, I started to struggle against the arms that were holding me but to no avail, the person who attacked me had double my strength. Thinking fast, I licked and bit down hard on the hand that was covering my mouth. To my satisfaction, the person holding me immediately let go, cradling their hands in pain. Taking advantage of the opening, tried to run, but immediately fell to the ground when I felt a cutting hex slice across my back. Crying out in pain, I tried to hold back my tears and reached up to touch the necklace Severus had given me, hoping against hope that it would work and he would be there soon.

Just as I began to feel dizzy from the loss of blood, I heard the crack of apparition, followed by Severus' voice shouting out hexes and the sound of bodies hitting the ground. Finishing off the Deatheaters, Severus hurried over to me, kneeling at my side. I sighed in relief as I felt him heal the cuts.

"I already alerted the Ministry," murmured Severus as he gathered me in his arms and apparated back to the house. I was vaguely aware of him carrying me up the stairs and lay me on a bed before I finally fainted from the blood loss and just pure fatigue. It felt like I had closed my eyes for five seconds when I felt Severus gently nudge my shoulder to get me to wake. Cracking open my eyes, I noticed I was in his room.

"Come on, you need to get cleaned up. I already got a bath ready for you." Smiling weakly in thanks, I crawled off the bad, wobbling before he wrapped an arm around my waist, supporting me as I made my way to the bathroom. I couldn't help but look at him gratefully as I caught sight of the tub overflowing with bubbles.

"Thank you," I said sincerely, looking up at him. He smiled back down at me.

"You're welcome," he said as he moved his arm away from my waist. "You'll be okay, right? I mean, not to cross any boundaries, but, I figured since your back is probably sore…and, you know…"

"I chuckled at his awkwardness. "It's okay, I'm fine. Besides, I'm pretty sure we've already crossed the boundaries of a teacher/student relationship."

Smiling back at me, he nodded before exiting the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Looking back at the tub, I started to undress quickly before the water got cold. I winced as I removed my shirt, cursing inwardly at my stupidity. I should have never let my guard down. What had I been thinking? Knowing that it was a Deatheater, it had to have been a dark curse, and after being in a war I knew that injuries from dark curses took forever to heal.

Shaking my head, I decided to relax as I stepped into the tub, sighing as I felt the warm water. I wasn't going to think about that right now, I was just going to focus on the soothing water that surrounded me. I smiled as I looked over and saw that Severus had placed fresh clothes on the counter for me. I think I was one of the only people who knew that Severus Snape really did have a heart.

Lost in my thoughts, I was surprised when I lifted my hands and saw that the skin on my fingers was wrinkled from the water. I hadn't realized I'd been sitting there for that long. Washing off quickly, I got out and dried off, carefully throwing on my clothes so as not to reopen any of my cuts. Walking out the bedroom and through Severus' room, I walked down the where I knew he was sitting. As I expected, Severus was sitting curled up in his favorite arm chair reading a book. He looked up when I entered.

"The Ministry capture the Death eaters that attacked you," he said, and for some reason, I found tears in my eyes. I looked down, trying to hide them before he noticed, but to no avail. "Hermione, are you okay?"

With those words I broke down, throwing myself at him as I broke down into a fit of tears. I felt him tense up as I landed in his arms before he hesitantly wrapped his arms around me. I fearlessly wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my face into his chest as I soaked his shirt with my tears. I smiled through my tears as I felt him carefully start to rub soothing circles on my back, trying hard to comfort me in some way. I continued to cry for the next half hour until I found I had no more tears to cry. Sniffling, I pulled back enough to look up at his face, my brown eyes meeting his worried black ones.

"Are you alright?" he asked tentatively, obviously trying to make sure I didn't break out into another fit of tears. I nodded.

"I'm sorry, it's just that when you said that, the shock of everything just came crashing down. I can't believe how stupid I was! Why in the world did I turn around and run? I should have fought back, if I had this never would have happened." I panted from my rant before I finished in a whisper, "I wouldn't have had to worry you." Severus frowned at my statement.

"That's what I'm here for," he said, surprising me by smoothing down my hair in a comforting gesture. "I don't mind at all. All that matters is that you made it back safely and you're sitting here, all cozy and done crying." Smiling up at him, I snuggled more into his chest as he relaxed in the chair. "Plus, while contacted the rest of the order, I found out that next week his Harry's birthday party at the Burrow." I was about to comment and demand that he go with me when I stopped, realizing what he had said.

"Wait, you just called Harry 'Harry'. What happened to 'Potter'? I asked, smirking at him as he shrugged and looked down at me sheepishly.

"I don't know, I just felt like…changing." I gaped at him in mock surprise.

"Wow, a question that Severus Snape doesn't have a straight answer to. The world must be coming to an end." I chuckled as he tried to avoid looking at my face in embarrassment.

"Oh, shut up," he said half-heartedly as I continued to laugh at him. Seeing that I wasn't going to stop laughing anytime soon, he picked me up off of his lap, causing me to shriek in surprise. "Come on, I think the elves should have dinner ready by now." He started walking downstairs as I continued to kick and hit him, demanding that he put me down, even though if I was being honest, I didn't really want him to. All I knew was that at that moment, everything was absolutely perfect.


	7. Birthdays and Confrontations

**A/N: Thanks for all the response on chapter 6! Here's chapter 7!**

"Come on, we're going to be late!" I shouted through the door at Severus, who seemed to be taking his sweet old time getting ready. "The party starts soon!"

Severus chose that moment to open the door and walk out. "Oh no, wouldn't want to miss it," he said sarcastically. I smacked his arm playfully.

"Oh, get over yourself and come on," I said, making my way downstairs and out the door, Severus reluctantly following behind me. Finally getting outside of the anti-apparation wards, I waited for him to reach me before linking my arm through his so we could apparate to Grimmauld Place.

Appearing in the small neighborhood with a loud crack, I led him up to the front door hurriedly with excitement. Knocking on the door, I smiled when it was quickly answered by Harry.

"Happy 18th Birthday!" I exclaimed, stepping forward to wrap my arms around him. He laughed at my enthusiasm, hugging me back fiercely.

"Thanks," he said, stepping back so he could greet Severus, who wished him Happy Birthday and shook his hand awkwardly. I couldn't help but smile at the awkwardness between the two of them.

"Oh come on you guys, you're both the same age, the war is over, and you're no longer teacher and student. Why can't you two just make up and be friends already?" I said, exasperated. They gave each other a quick glance before looking back at me.

"If you really want to, we will," said Severus, surprising me. I expected Harry to be the one to agree first, not him. I looked at Harry, waiting for his input. He shrugged.

"I guess we are being a little immature. I'll try it. Who knows, maybe I'll get a new friend for my birthday," Harry said optimistically, giving Severus a hesitant smile which he slowly returned, clearly unsure of himself.

"Come on," I said, clapping, "let's get to the party." Making our way to the kitchen, I trailed behind a bit next to Severus so I could talk to him.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when you agreed to be friends with a Potter," I said teasingly.

"I think I just realized what happened two months ago. I'm 18 again, I can start over." I smiled at him.

"That's great," I said, impulsively kissing him on the cheek as we enter the kitchen. Before I could see the expression on his face, I quickly walked into the room, hoping no one saw what I had done.

Needless to say, dinner was extremely awkward, with me stuck sitting next to Severus trying to avoid eye contact. I was gratefully when it was finally time to open presents. My happiness at Harry liking my gift of leather Quidditch gloves was enough to distract me from the awkwardness until Ginny whisked me away later in the evening, pulling me into her room.

"I saw that," she said as soon as the door was closed behind us.

"Saw what? I asked, confused.

"That kiss you gave Snape before you two entered the kitchen." I looked down and blushed when I realized what she was talking about. "I knew it, there is something going on between the two on you!"

"No, nothing is going on," I said quickly. "I don't even know why I did it." Ginny smirked at me.

"That's because you like him," she said, smirking even wider. "Admit it. You're falling for him, hard." Before I could deny it again, there was a knock on the door before it cracked open, Severus sticking his head in.

"Molly wanted to know if we could stay the night. Almost everyone is." I saw the hesitation at staying overnight in his eyes.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," I said softly, taking his opinion into account. He shook his head.

"It's fine, I can go home and grab some clothes too if you want." I smiled at him; he just kept surprising me today.

"That would be great." He nodded at me before turning and walking out. As expected, Ginny practically exploded when she was sure he was out of earshot.

"He's getting your clothes for you! Do expect me to believe that there's nothing going on?" I looked down at me feet in embarrassment.

"No, but there really is nothing," I said unconvincingly. "Even if I did like him, it would never work. Any day now the Ministry is going to find some way to turn him back to his normal age and we'll both go back to living our lives. How could we be together after that? He would be 20 years my senior."

Ginny reached forward and started rubbing my shoulder soothingly. "Never say never," she said, giving me a cheeky grin. I smiled as I closed the distance between us and embraced her, happy to have the comfort of a friend. We stood like that for a few minutes before there was another knock on the door. Groaning exasperatedly, I stepped out of her arms and walked over to the door, pulling it open to reveal Ron, looking uncharacteristically serious.

"Can we talk?" he asked an unexpectedly tense edge in his voice. Nodding, I gave Ginny a look, silently asking her to leave us alone for a second. To my relief, she instantly understood, side stepping us as she made her way out the room. Closing the door, Ron turned toward me. "What's going on between you and Snape?" he asked angrily. I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly Ron, why do you care? I've been living with him for 2 months and we've become friends!"

"You two have been looking pretty cozy together lately," he said, voice laced with distrust.

"Is there something wrong with that?" I asked, growing angry. "Even if we were dating, there's nothing wrong with that. He's 18, I'm 18, and believe it or not, we have a lot in common."

"Two months ago he was the greasy git of the dungeons! Two months ago we kissed!" I sighed.

"So that's what this is about!" I yelled. "Just because I kissed you doesn't mean you own me! It was the heat of the moment type of thing, looking back at it now it means nothing! I can date who ever I very well please; you have no control over that!" I was panting hard by the end of my rant, glaring at him in anger.

"Hermione, I-"

"Just get out!" I yelled at him in fury. Looking down ashamed, he quickly backed out of the room, knowing not to push me anymore. I was still panting when Severus and Ginny walked in 5 minutes later.

"Are you okay?" Severus asked when he saw the look on my face. Shaking my head, I ran forward and hugged him, the force making him stumble and plop down onto the bed.

"I hate Ron!" I cried, sobbing into his chest as he rubbed circles on my back. Through my tears, I missed the look Severus and Ginny shared as she slowly backed out the room, closing the door behind her. Hugging me tighter, he leaned back on the bed, pulling me down with him so I was lying next to him, cradled in his arms.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked hesitantly. I shook my head vigorously, relaxing into his embrace before falling asleep, my last thought being that I was absolutely sure I was falling in love with Severus Snape.


End file.
